SPECIAL RELATIVITY: TIME DILATION & o A car’s motion is measured

LENGTH CONTRACTION, AND GENERAL relative to its starting point or

RELATIVITY the road it is moving over.
o A planet’s orbit is measured
Introduction to Special Relativity
relative to the star it is orbiting
Relativity – study of how different observers around.
measure the same event.
Why do we have to measure things in
Galileo and Newton developed the first INERTIAL REFERENCE FRAME?
correct version of classical relativity. Einstein
Because the laws of physics seem to be the
developed the modern theory of relativity.
simplest in inertial frames. Not only that, but
they should be the same in all inertial frames
since there is no preferred frames and no
Modern Relativity absolute motion.
 Special relativity deals with FIRST POSTULATE OF RELATIVITY – the
observers who are moving at constant laws of physics are the same and can be
velocity. stated in their simplest form in all inertial
 General relativity deals with frames of reference.
observers who are undergoing
acceleration. the laws of physics are always the same for
all inertial reference.
Speed – scalar (with magnitude)
 The definitions of relativistic
Velocity – vector quantity (with magnitude momentum (p=mv) and energy must
and direction) be altered to fit the postulates.
Acceleration – if there is a change in  E=mc2
direction and change in velocity or both

displacement (m) Einstein’s Second Postulate

velocity(v)=
time(s )
 Deals with the speed of light
distance (m)  Based on the various attempts to
speed (s)=
time(s) measure the speed of light
 Michelson-Morley Experiment
V f −V i 2 (Greatest Failed Experiment) -
acceleration ( a )= =m/s
time ( s ) demonstrated that the speed of light
in a vacuum is independent of the
motion of the Earth about the Sun.
Einstein’s Postulate o Light does not need a medium
to propagate
SPECIAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY is based o Independent of the motion of
upon Einstein’s Postulate. the source relative to the
Einstein’s First Postulate observer.
o Everyone observers light to
 Relates to the reference frames, all move at speed c.
velocities are measured relative to  c = celerity/swift/fast
some frame of reference.  c is the symbol for light.
 Inertial Reference Frame – a body at  Lights travels at c.
rest remains at rest and a body in o Based on the laws of electricity
motion moves at a constant speed in a and magnetism that travels in
straight line unless acted on by an constant speed.
outside force.
SECOND POSTULATE OF RELATIVITY –  For Observer B (stationary) it will be
speed of light is a constant independent of 200km/hr.
the relative motion of the source.
In modern physics…
 c – 299 792 458 m/s ~ 3.0 x 108 m/s
If the arrow were light, it will arrive at the
 This is always true in vacuum,
target at the same velocity, c.
however the speed of light changes
depending on the medium to which it The space a person occupying is equals to
interacts. the volume.
Luminiferous Ether and the Michelson-Morley
Experiment https://youtu.be/RGp3FZSi900 In order to make the speed of light constant,
SIMULTANEITY AND TIME DILATION Einstein replaced absolute space and time
with new definitions that depend on the state
Einstein’s Gedankenexperiments (thought of the motion of an observer.
experiment)
Consider two observers and a train.
Australian physicist Ernst Mach and French
mathematician Henri Poincare` had critiqued  Observer 1 stands alongside a straight
classical mechanics or contemplated the track.
behavior of light and the meaning of the  Observer 2 rides a train moving at
ether before Einstein. constant speed along the track.

Their efforts provided a background for Each views the world relative to his own
Einstein’s unique approach to understanding surrounding.
the universe, which he called in his native
Germans a Gedankenexperiment, or “though
experiment” For Newtonian Reference Frame,
x’ = x – vt

SOME ADDITIONAL x – distance measured by the fixed observer

Light is a form of wave. x’ – distance measured by the moving

observer
Some type of wave needs medium to
propagate v – speed of the moving observer

Example: t – time at which the event happens

What is the medium of ocean wave? Water

Mechanical wave – sound wave Suppose the train moves at 40 km/hr. After
one hour, a tree 60 km from the train’s
Ether Wind – hypothetical medium at which starting point in struck by lightning.
light travel.
The fixed observer measures x=60 km at
t=1hr. The moving observer also measures
SIMULTANEITY AND TIME DILATION t=1hr, and so, according to Newton’s
equation, the moving observe will measure
In classical physics… what distance (x’)?
For a train moving at 100km/hr, and an
arrow moving at 200km/hr. The arrow will
arrive at a target at different velocities.
 For Observer A (moving) it will be
300km/hr.
 How does the elapsed time astronaut
measures compare with the elapsed time
measured for the same event by a person on
the Earth?

The picture above is based on classical

physics, in newton’s reference frame.

For Einstein,
The two people do not actually observe the
lightning strike at the same time since each
is at a different distance from the event, the
travel times differ.
Suppose lightning strikes two trees, from a (a) An astronaut measures the time ^t 0 for
fixed observer, 60 km ahead and 60 km light to cross her ship using an electronic
behind, exactly as the moving observer timer. Light travels a distance 2D in the
passes the fixed observer. astronaut’s frame.

 Fixed observer – observes the event (b) A person on the Earth sees the light
simultaneously since the evnt travels follow the longer path 2S and take a longer
the same distance. time ^t.
 Moving observer – observes the (c) These triangles are used to find the
event at different time since the relationship between the two distance 2D
motion moves him closer to one event and 2S.
than the other.
In summary,
Two events are defined to be simultaneously
if an observer measures them as occurring at
the same time (such as by receiving light
from the events). However, two events are
not necessarily simultaneous to all  Astronaut sees a total distance -2D
observers.  Earth-bound observer sees a total
distance -2S

TIME DILATION Light travels at a speed c in both frames, and

because time is the distance divided by
The consideration of the measurement of speed, the time measured by the astronaut
elapsed time and simultaneity leads to an is:
important relativistic effect.
Proper time – the time measured by an
Time dilation – time passing slower for an observer at rest relative to the event being
observer who is moving relative to another observed.
observer.
 Alternatively, according to the Earth-bound
observer, time slows in the moving frame,
since less time passes there.
All clocks moving relative to an observer,
including biological clocks, such as aging, are
observed to run slow compared with a clock
stationary relative to the observer.
Time measured by Earth-bound observer.

Distance (L) the astronaut moves as the light

goes across her ship. In the frame of the
Earth-bound observer.

This implies that v cannot exceed c. As v

approaches infinity. This would imply that
time in the astronaut’s frame stops at the
speed of light.
If v exceeded c, then we would be taking the
square root of a negative number, producing
an imaginary value for ^t.
Suppose a cosmic ray colliding with a
nucleus in the Earth’s upper atmosphere
produces a muon that has a velocity, v –
0.950c.
The muon then travels at constant velocity
Proper time measured by an observer, like and lives 1.52s as measured in the muon’s
the astronaut moving with the apparatus, is frame of reference. How long does the muon
smaller than time measured by other live as measured by an Earth-bound
observers. observer?

Since those other observers measure a

longer time, the effect is called time dilation.
The Earth-bound observer experiences time
dilate (get longer).
 Kung nasaan ang light, siya ang at rest.
If the velocity will exceed the speed of light,
mawawalan ka ng conception of time, or else
magrereverse yung time. (Idea of time
travel)
If you are travelling near the speed of light,
the time will get slower for a person.
Only photons can travel at the speed of light.

Another implication of the preceding MODERN PHYSICS

example is that everything an astronaut does
The Twin Paradox
when moving at the speed of light relative to
the Earth takes 3.20 times longer when The situation would seem different to the
observed from the Earth. astronaut. The spaceship would seem to be
stationary, and the Earth would appear to
Does the astronaut sense this?
move. (This is the sensation you have when
All methods of measuring time in her frame flying in a jet).
will be affected by the same factor of 3.20.
If the astronaut looks out the window of the
This includes her wristwatch, heart rate, cell
spaceship, she will see time slow down on
metabolism rate, nerve impulse rate, and so
the Earth by a factor of y= 30.0. To her, the
on. She will have no way of telling since all of
Earth-bound sister will have aged only 2/3
her clocks will agree with one another
(1/15) of a year, while she aged 2.00 years.
because their relative velocities are zero.
Motion is relative, not absolute. The two sisters cannot both be correct.
The situations are not symmetric, and it is
not correct to claim that the astronaut will
The twin paradox
observe the same effects as her Earth-bound
An intriguing consequence of time-dilation is twin.
that a space traveler moving at a high
If you use special relativity to examine the
velocity relative to the Earth would age less
twin paradox, you must keep in mind that
than her Earth-bound twin.
the theory is expressly based on inertial
If a 40-years old astronaut is moving at y- frames, which be definition are not
30.0 takes a 2-year trip in another start accelerated or rotating.
system, upon her return.
For these two girls, age = 11 y/o
a. What will her age be?
 Callisto is moving at v = 0.890c
b. How long will her travel be on Earth?  Europa stayed on Earth

c. What will her twin sister’s age be? How old will Callisto be when she gets back
to Earth after visiting an exoplanet in the
Andromeda Galaxy that took her 4.5 years
SOME ADDITIONAL one-way?

Mas mabagal ang oras sa astronaut, pero it How old will Europa be?
just the same in earth.
Length Contraction
The one second in earth is not one second in
astronaut.
Have you ever driven on a road that seems the Earth. To the astronaut in the rocket, the
like it goes on forever? Earth, air and clouds are moving, and so the
distance it sees is not the proper length.
If you look ahead, you might say you have
about 10km left to go. Another traveler To develop an equation relating distances
might say the road ahead looks like it’s measured by different observers, we use the
about 15 km long. If you both measured the equations for
road, however, you would agree.
 Velocity relative to the Earth-bound:
Travelling at everyday speeds, the distance
you both measure would be the same.
However, that this is not true relativistic
speeds. Close to the speed of light, distances
measured are not the same when measured
by different observers.  The velocity relative to the moving
observer:
One thing all observers agree upon is
relative speed. Even though clocks measure
different elapsed times for the same process,
they still agree that relative speed, which is
distance divided by elapsed time, is the
same.
 And since the velocity is equal,
This implies that distance, too, depends on
the observer’s relative motion. If two
observers see different times, then they
must also see different distances for relative
speed to be the same each of them.

Substituting the values for ^t=y^t0

What distance does a rocket covers if:  We get the formula for Length
Contraction:
 For an Earth-bound observer it travels
at a velocity of 0.90c in for 7.2
microseconds?
 For and astronaut in the rocket it
travels for only 2.2 microseconds.
The distance between the same two events Suppose an astronaut, such as the twin
depends on who measures it and how they discussed in Simultaneity and Time Dilation
are moving relative to it. travels so fast that.
Proper Length (L0) – is the distance (a) She travels from the Earth to the nearest
between two points measured by an start system, Alpha Centauri, 4.300 light
observer who is at rest relative to both of the years (ly) away as measured by an Earth-
points (Earth-bound) bound observer. How far apart are the Earth
L0 = v^t and Alpha Centauri as measured by the
astronaut?
Length measured by an observer in motion.
(b) In terms of c, what is her velocity relative
L = v^t0 to the Earth?
The Earth-bound observer measures the
proper length, because the points at which
the rocket departed is stationary relative to LENGTH CONTRACTION
A particle is travelling through Earth’s Gravity is the curvature of time and space.
atmosphere at a speed of 0.750c. to an
Gravity is the attraction.
earth-bound observer, the distance it travels
is 2.50km. Massive bodies curves the spacetime more.
How far does the particle travel as viewed
from the particle’s reference frame?
General relativity is physicist Albert
How fast is a moving observer travelling if Einstein's understanding of how gravity
the stationary observer measured 1.75km affects the fabric of space-time.
from starting point (A) to end point (B) while
the moving observer measured 0.98km? The theory, which Einstein published in 1915,
expanded the theory of special relativity that
he had published 10 years earlier. Special
relativity argued that space and time are
inextricably connected, but that theory didn't
acknowledge the existence of gravity.
GENERAL RELATIVITY The gravitational force tugging between two
bodies depends on how massive each one is
Suppose you stand on a bathroom scale
and how far apart the two lie.
inside your room without a window. What will
you observes/measure? Even as the center of the Earth is pulling you
toward it, your center of mass is pulling back
Suppose the room is inside a rocket that is
at the Earth. But the more massive body
accelerating at 9.8m/s^2.
barely feels the tug from you. Newton's laws
What will you observe? assume that gravity is an innate force of an
object that can act over a distance.
Will you be able to know the difference?
Suppose you shine a light in the accelerating Albert Einstein, in his theory of special
spaceship. relativity:

What will happen to the light beam?  laws of physics are the same for all
non-accelerating observers,
Suppose you shine a light on Earth. What will  speed of light within a vacuum is the
happen to the light beam? same no matter the speed at which an
For one to travel the fastest, it must take the observer travels
shortest path from A --> B. As a result, he found that space and time
What is the shortest path from one point to were interwoven into a single continuum
the other? known as space-time.

But since Earth is spherical, the shortest path Events that occur at the same time for one
is never a straight line, rather a curved one. observer could occur at different times for
another.
If it applies to Earth, then it must also apply
to more massive bodies, right? Einstein realized that massive objects caused
a distortion in space-time. Imagine setting a
Spacetime tells matter how to move; large object in the center of a trampoline.
Matter tells spacetime how to curve – The object would press down into the fabric,
John Wheeler causing it to dimple. If you then attempt to
How did we prove it? roll a marble around the edge of the
trampoline, the marble would spiral inward
During a total solar eclipse. Sir Arthur toward the body, pulled in much the same
Eddington photographed the sun.
way that the gravity of a planet pulls at rocks
in space